Lot Essay
John Bellamy emerged from a ship-carving craft tradition with roots in this country extending back to the seventeenth century. His
family were prosperous, socially prominent members of Kittery Point, Maine, and Bellamy received formal art training in Boston and New York. He eventually was apprenticed to a Boston woodcarver and began receiving commissions at the Boston and Portsmouth Navy Yards. His famous eagles frequently were carved to adorn public buildings and ships. The example illustrated is typical of Bellamy's style, with the detail of the wings, the articulation of the beak, and the drapery of the flags. For further information on John Bellamy, see Victor Safford "John Haley Bellamy," Folk Art in America: Painting and Sculpture (New York: 1979), pp. 128-134.
family were prosperous, socially prominent members of Kittery Point, Maine, and Bellamy received formal art training in Boston and New York. He eventually was apprenticed to a Boston woodcarver and began receiving commissions at the Boston and Portsmouth Navy Yards. His famous eagles frequently were carved to adorn public buildings and ships. The example illustrated is typical of Bellamy's style, with the detail of the wings, the articulation of the beak, and the drapery of the flags. For further information on John Bellamy, see Victor Safford "John Haley Bellamy," Folk Art in America: Painting and Sculpture (New York: 1979), pp. 128-134.